I grew up in West Texas/Eastern NM so tamales on Christmas and Black eyes on New Years was a tradition for my family as well.

One year we were sharing our Christmas tradition with a our neighbors here in Oklahoma and while eating the tamales they asked why?

I am not real sure why... but my father as he is unwrapping the tamale starts in about how the tamale is like the baby Jesus and he is swaddled (husk) and when you eat the tamale.. or baby Jesus you are eating the body of Christ. The neighbors were in awe and even told their friends about it. Wasn't until a couple years later that my Dad confessed that he had just made it all up... sure sounded good to me.

I grew up in West Texas/Eastern NM so tamales on Christmas and Black eyes on New Years was a tradition for my family as well.

One year we were sharing our Christmas tradition with a our neighbors here in Oklahoma and while eating the tamales they asked why?

I am not real sure why... but my father as he is unwrapping the tamale starts in about how the tamale is like the baby Jesus and he is swaddled (husk) and when you eat the tamale.. or baby Jesus you are eating the body of Christ. The neighbors were in awe and even told their friends about it. Wasn't until a couple years later that my Dad confessed that he had just made it all up... sure sounded good to me.

I'm not sure either, but like all good traditions, I do it every year without question.